Cordrea Tankersley’s college career ended with a national championship as Clemson’s top defensive back. He’ll bring that pedigree to the Miami Dolphins after being selected with the 97th pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
Cordrea Tankersley slipped to Dolphins in the 3rd round in deep cornerback class
The physical Clemson defensive back has to improve his ball skills at the next level.
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Tankersley was one of the NCAA’s stingiest cornerbacks after developing into a starter with the Tigers in 2015. He limited opposing quarterbacks — including stalwarts like Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans — to a 41.2 passer rating the past two seasons, emerging as a physical presence who can shut down No. 1 receivers.
The physical corner worked his tail off to earn a spot in the third round. After spending his first two years in South Carolina working primarily in special teams, he ascended to a prime-time role and rewarded head coach Dabo Swinney’s faith with an All-American performance. The question now is whether he can repeat that rise in the NFL.
What skills does Tankersley bring to the Dolphins?
At 6’1, he’s a long, lean cornerback who fits well into the mold players like Richard Sherman set in the NFL. He’s aggressive in coverage and works well both as a bump-and-run player near the line of scrimmage and as a more conservative, off-the-ball tracker in man coverage. His strong athleticism — he ran a 4.40s 40-yard dash at the Combine -- makes him difficult to beat downfield.
He’s not an elite jumper, but his long arms help mitigate that, making it difficult for passers to throw over him in the red zone. He’s a solid tackler who wraps up well and can roam to the line of scrimmage and add extra depth to blitz packages.
All in all, he has the physical makeup to be one of the best defensive backs to come out of the 2017 draft. Given his competition, that’s heavy praise.
What are Tankersley’s weaknesses, and can they be covered up in the pros?
The Clemson product’s athleticism exceeds his instinct for the game, which can allow him to be turned around in coverage and create moments where he’ll struggle to track the ball once it’s in the air. He tends to over-correct on these mistakes, leading to an unacceptable amount of defensive holding and pass interference calls in 2016. You can even see in the .gif above the liberties he takes downfield when it comes to grabbing onto receivers before the ball arrives.
He’ll need to bulk up a bit more without sacrificing the speed that allows him to break back to the ball when he gets beat near the line of scrimmage.
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